What’s up with… Optical demand, Telus, Airtel Africa

• AI backbone investments light up the optical transport sector  
• Telus pledges to spend CAN $66bn over next five years 
• Airtel Africa tests D2D in Uganda with Starlink

In today’s industry news roundup: AI datacentre interconnect investments are set to boost the value of the optical transport network equipment sector to its highest level in more than 25 years; Telus is planning a broad swathe of investments in the next five years that, in part, will support its sovereign service goals; Airtel Africa teams up with Starlink to test direct-to-device services in Uganda; and much more!

The optical transport equipment sector is set to grow by a bigger-than-expected 16% this year to be worth more than $18bn for the first time in more than 25 years, driven by the ongoing rise in AI datacentre-related network infrastructure deployments, according to research firm Dell’Oro Group. “We raised our full year 2026 forecast from 10% to 16% following standout results in the first quarter of 2026,” stated Jimmy Yu, a VP at  Dell’Oro Group. “We estimate that the optical transport market grew 20% year over year in the first quarter of this year, driven by demand for datacentre interconnect. However, many key optical suppliers are noting a growing backlog of orders as lead times continue to stretch out. We think supply may be the biggest factor keeping the optical transport market’s growth rate from being even higher this year due to all the AI datacentre buildouts,” added Yu. In the first quarter of 2026, the optical transport system vendor market leaders were Huawei, Ciena, Nokia and ZTE. 

Telus has pledged to invest CAN $66bn (US$48bn) over the next five years to “expand and enhance its network infrastructure and operations across Canada”, a move that hammers home the operator’s focus on developing technology platforms and networks that can meet the sovereign services needs of domestic customers. While the Canadian operator didn’t break down how much would be spent on particular areas of investment – the total includes its ongoing outlay on fibre and radio access networks – it includes the capital being invested in the operator’s AI factory infrastructure, which is being expanded following the success of its initial deployment of GPUs at its Rimouski, Quebec-based facility, as we reported recently. In addition, the spending plans will expand Telus Digital’s Fuel iX, “a platform enabling Canadian companies to deploy secure, domestically controlled AI assistants”. The operator noted: “Building on industry-leading safety practices, Fuel iX Fortify addresses Canada’s stringent AI security and safety requirements through automated purple teaming and rigorous testing protocols, helping organisations confidently integrate AI while maintaining control over their data and systems.”

Airtel Africa has begun testing direct-to-device (D2D) connectivity in Uganda with Starlink after the government granted the SpaceX satellite company a provisional licence to offer services in the country. On Airtel Uganda’s LinkedIn page, MD and CEO Soumendra Sahu revealed that the operator has entered the testing phase for D2D satellite services. Airtel Africa was already the first mobile network operator in Africa to begin testing the Starlink Direct-to-Cell service, based on a partnership agreement signed in December that covers 14 of Airtel Africa’s markets. Just last week, the Uganda Communications Commission officially cleared SpaceX to begin offering Starlink services in the country in a ceremony witnessed by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. Starlink initially launched in the country in 2023 offering roaming services, but it was shut down temporarily in January due to elections. Now the Elon Musk-owned company has signed a memorandum of understanding and operational licence agreement at State House, Entebbe.

Deutsche Telekom states in its annual Corporate Responsibility Report that, since the end of 2025, its own operations have been carbon neutral on a net basis. “Sustainability is not a parallel agenda alongside our core business,” stated Robert Metzke, Deutsche Telekom’s VP of group corporate responsibility. “In times of multiple crises, we see sustainability as a contribution to strengthening long-term relevance, resilience and entrepreneurial freedom to act,” he added in this announcement. Compared with 2017, DT says it has reduced its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by more than 94%, with the remaining 6% “offset through high-quality carbon removal projects”. The telco is “also making significant progress across its entire value chain: Emissions (Scope 1-3) declined by 38% compared with 2020. Deutsche Telekom is, therefore, on track to achieve its interim target of a 55% reduction by 2030, validated by the Science Based Targets initiative,” it added. 

Ericsson has partnered with internet of things (IoT) network operator Net Feasa to bring carrier-grade 4G and 5G connectivity and agentic AI to the maritime industry. Operating out of Singapore, the partnership will look to support vessel owners, shipping companies and port operators with real-time, end-to-end visibility of cargo from the point of departure to the destination port, noted Ericsson. The new solution includes Ericsson Radio System products and the Swedish vendor’s network-as-a-service on-demand 5G core network, as well as Net Feasa’s Agentic Control Tower platform, which enables full visibility of all smart-enabled containers on board, and an agentic AI-ready data layer that enables proactive operations across the supply chain.

The newest version of BT Mobile has gone live in the UK, just two weeks after the country’s incumbent unveiled plans to revive the mobile brand, three years after it was put on ice. BT previously moved away from BT Mobile to focus on its main consumer brand EE – the mobile network it bought for £12.5bn in 2016. By introducing the new brand, BT is (initially, at least) targeting existing broadband customers and is offering “clear and simple plans”, enhanced security and benefits, including double data for customers signed up to its premium Halo add-on service.

Orange Cyberdefense, the dedicated cybersecurity business of Orange, has partnered with the World Economic Forum’s Cybercrime Atlas project to launch a new open-source project that aims to map connections across the global cybercrime ecosystem. The Cosmos platform has been designed to improve global coordination between law enforcement agencies, researchers and private-sector cybersecurity. It will look to build a universal ontology that maps, classifies and connects the components of the cybercriminal ecosystem. On a pro bono basis, Orange Cyberdefense will contribute its cyber threat intelligence, open-source research expertise, and its technology know-how through the delivery of an interactive knowledge-graph platform to support this global effort. It will work alongside private-sector and academic experts to support research, data collection and intelligence structuring, and will contribute a bespoke visualisation application, built on the technology behind its Cybercrime Now platform.

– The staff, TelecomTV